Merchandise display vehicle



INVENTOR. JOSEPH CLEMENT June 18, 1968 J. CLEMENT MERCHANDISE DISPLAY VEHICLE Filed July 29, 1966 United States Patent Office Patented June 18, 1968 3,388,943 MERCHANDISE DISPLAY VEHICLE Joseph Clement, Atlanta, Ga., assignor to Modern Metal Products Company, Greensboro, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed July 29, 1966, Ser. No. 568,516 7 Claims. (Cl. 296--21) This invention relates to a merchandise display vehicle and more particularly to a merchandise display vehicle for use in automobile service stations for displaying various types of seasonal merchandise.

Automobile service stations handle and sell various articles to motorists in addition to those articles used for motor vehicles primarily but to increase sales volume such articles are required to be displayed and become more accessible for viewing by the motorist whose car is being serviced with gasoline and oil. By displaying merchandise within the service station rather than in the direct view of the motorist within close proximity to the gasoline pumping area, the service station does not enjoy the increased volume of business for other articles of merchandise.

It is, therefore, an objective of this invention to provide a merchandise display vehicle that is readily transportable to various areas around a service station particularly for viewing by motorists and others while displaying various seasonal articles.

Another objective of this invention is to provide a merchandise display cabinet which is readily movable that may be maintained in a stationary position with merchandise thereon for display on one or more sides while readily available to customers.

Still another objective of this invention is to provide a portable merchandise display vehicle having display racks and cabinet storage space, and one that is readily convertible to handle various articles of merchandise for display.

Other objectives and many of the advantages of is merchandise display vehicle will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a merchandise display vehicle with displayed items shown in Outline form with the vehicle in the stationary position;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a merchandise display vehicle of FIG. 1 with other articles of merchandise displayed thereon in outline form and with the supporting rack being positioned in a different location;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the merchandise display vehicle, partially exploded and with an intermediate base panel elevated, and a portion removed, with the vehicle being illustrated in the movable position; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial elevational view of the rear caster and base of the vehicle.

Referring to the drawing and particularly to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of a merchandise display vehicle that is provided with a base housing 11 for storing various articles of merchandise therein within the compartment 12 formed by the bottom wall 13, the side walls 14, and the end walls 15, and the top wall 16 that is provided with an intermediate removable panel 17. In the condition shown in FIG. 1, the top panel provides a platform on which merchandi e may be displayed such as garden hose, fertilizer, screening, among other products, including tires, batteries, etc.

A pair of vertically extending merchandise retaining rails 18 and 19 are securely fastened to the end wall 11 with the rails 18 and 19 being shown in substantially inverted V-shaped form with square cross-sectional area for each of the rails. The intermediate top panel 17 is provided with a pair of vertical rack-receiving openings 20 at each end of the panel.

There is mounted a pair of bearing blocks 21 on the bottom wall for bearingly supporting the vehicle axle 22 at the ends of which a wheel 23 is mounted with each of of the wheels 23 extending through the wheel opening 24 in the bottom wall to engage the ground surface beneath the vehicle. A brake bar 25 is pivotally mounted on the bottom wall and is provided with a friction shoe 26 secured to the wheel-engaging terminal end 27 of the brake arm 25. A helical spring 28 extends between the axle 22 and the brake arm 25 to bias the brake against the wheel to prevent movement of the vehicle in the condition as shown in FIG. 1. A brake releasing arm 30 is secured at one end thereof to the brake arm 25 and the other end 32 passes through an opening 33 in the end wall 15 to engage the cross bar 34 that is secured to the inverted V-shaped pulling handle 35 that is pivotally connected at 36 to the lower end of one of the merchandise retaining rails 19. The pulling handle 35, in the vehicle stationary position, as shown in PEG. 1, is nestable into the enclosure formed by the rail 19 and may be withdrawn, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vehicle is to be displaced thereby disengaging the brake shoe 24 as the rod 30 will pivot arm 25 against the action of spring 28 thereby releasing the wheel 23 to revolve.

In addition to the side wheels 23 mounted in the base, there is also provided front and rear casters 37 and 38 that may swivel as the pull bar 39 is drawn in particular direction providing maneuverability for the vehicle.

A display rack 40 is releasably mounted on the base by means of vertical posts 41 and 42 through openings 43 in the top wall 16 or in the intermediate panel 17 through the openings 20 depending upon the desired lo cation of the rack 40 which will depend upon the merchandise to be displayed and the. location of the vehicle 10 in the area of the service station. A horizontal cross bar 44 reaches between and is secured to the vertical members 41 and 42 and is provided with a plurality of depending rings 45 for retaining display signs 46 at the upper portion of the display rack 40 as shown in FIG. 3. A plurality of individual shelves 47, each of which is vertically adjustable through conventional shelf-retaining brackets 48 releasably secured in openings 49 in the vertical posts 41 and 42, will support various articles in boxes, cans, and other receptacles for display. It may be desirable to display certain merchandise to shift the display rack 40 from the position shown in FIG. 1 at one side of the merchandise display vehicle to the intermediate or central position as shown in FIG. 2, and this may be readily achieved merely by raising the rack and introducing it into the openings 20. as shown in FIG. 2.

The merchandise display vehicle may be removed from a stored position within the service station to an a ea outside adjacent to the gasoline pumps by pulling the handle 35 and thereby releasing the brake, when the vehicle is located suitably, the handle may be released from the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 to the position shown in FIG. 1 thereby preven ing the vehicle from rolling and avoiding the necessity of blocks being placed under the wheels.

A pair of longitudinally extending ribs 50 and 51 is provided in the panel 17, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, for providing a stop or guard when tires 53 or other articles are to be displayed which may roll or tend to be d splaced on the top wall 16.

It has been found desirable to make portions of the vehicle of sheet iron while other portions may be made of aluminum or other materials suitable for withstanding all weather conditions. Suitable drain openings 54 may be provided in the bottom wall in the event water enters within the storage area 12.

Many modifications and variations may be made to the configuration of the storage bin, base, and rack of the merchandise display vehicle Without departing from the purpose and spirit of this invention and such modifications are contemplated within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A merchandise display vehicle comprising a merchandise supporting base, wheels supported on said base for maintaining the base a suitable distance above the ground, merchandise retaining rails extending vertically from opposite ends of said base a suitable distance, and a vehicle pulling handle pivotally connected to said base and nestable in a stationary condition within one of said rails.

2. A merchandise display vehicle as claimed in claim 1, and a merchandise display shelf, and means for supporting said shelf from said base.

3. A merchandise display vehicle as claimed in claim 1, said base having top, side, end and bottom walls forming a storage compartment.

4. A merchandise display vehicle as claimed in claim 3, said top wall having a removable intermediate panel portion.

5. A merchandise display vehicle as claimed in claim 1, and a spring biased brake member on said base for engaging at least one of said wheels in the vehicle stationary condition when said pulling handle is in the nested position within one of said rails.

6. A merchandise display vehicle as claimed in claim 1, and a removable display rack having a plurality of d splay shelves mounted thereon supported from said base.

7. A merchandise display vehicle as claimed in claim 1, said base having bottom, side, end and top walls forming a merchandise storage compartment, said top wall having an intermediate removable panel portion, said removable panel portion having a pair of spaced apart longitudinally extending ribs for supporting merchand se between said ribs.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,005,640 10/1961 Cole 280-4734 3,314,688 4/1967 Guegold 28047.37 2,833,550 5/1958 Frick 28079.3 X

LEO FRIAGLIA, Primary Examiner.

P. GOODMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A MERCHANDISE DISPLAY VEHICLE COMPRISING A MERCHANDISE SUPPORTING BASE, WHEELS SUPPORTED ON SAID BASE FOR MAINTAINING THE BASE A SUITABLE DISTANCE ABOVE THE GROUND, MERCHANDISE RETAINING RAILS EXTENDING VERTICALLY FROM OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID BASE A SUITABLE DISTANCE, AND A VEHICLE PULLING HANDLE PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID BASE AND NESTABLE IN A STATIONARY CONDITION WITHIN ONE OF SAID RAILS. 